


The Trouble with Thompson

by keysburg



Category: Agent Carter (TV)
Genre: Boats, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Gen, Kidnapping, Trapped In A Closet, an agent's job is never done, i have no idea how the mob works, peggysous, working the night shift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-12
Updated: 2015-03-12
Packaged: 2018-03-19 10:38:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,972
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3607074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keysburg/pseuds/keysburg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After season 1, Thompson gets himself in trouble, and only Peggy and Daniel can save him... </p><p>
  <i> “Is that so?” Daniel asked. “And what insecurities do I have in common with Thompson, exactly?”</i>
</p><p>
  <i>“Oh, well. That you care more about other men’s opinions than you let on. That you care about the opinions of women even more.” Peggy moved close, into Daniel’s personal space. “That you suspect you fall short of deserving the woman you desire, even though you’re more than worthy.”</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Trouble with Thompson

After Peggy returned to work at the SSR, she took Daniel up on his offer to go out for a drink. It was unfortunate that their evening was interrupted by a bank robbery, but at least it had been a memorable occasion. Peggy had implied they would do it again.

If only they weren’t so busy. After the police report on the robbery got circulated around the SSR office, there had been a lot of speculation as to what exactly the two of them had been doing together that evening. Daniel always just smiled and changed the subject (a gentleman doesn’t kiss and tell) and Peggy fell back on her acerbic quips. The new kid, Feeny, had asked what they were doing flat out in front of the entire bullpen. She replied as tartly as ever.

“Feeny, darling boy, if you want to know what do with a woman on a date, ask your mum. I’ve got better things to do and these boys wouldn’t know how to treat a lady if their lives depended on it.”

The men in the bullpen either laughed at Feeny’s reddening face or shot Peggy a dirty look. Thompson was watching from the doorway of his office. He neither congratulated them on doing their civic duty nor teased them with the others. But all of a sudden they were both very busy, and not on the same projects. Daniel caught a three day stakeout with Ramirez on a potential Communist watering hole. When Peggy didn’t have a code breaking assignment, Thompson had her undercover in the Russian community, talking to women in their native language and trying to sniff out Dottie Underwood or other female Russian assassins. It kept her out of the office a lot and busy after hours. He was glad her skills were finally being put to use but he missed the chance to commiserate with her on a regular basis. Nevermind that they never seemed to have an opportunity for a quiet word or the chance to make further plans. After a couple weeks he began to suspect Thompson was keeping them apart on purpose. Daniel did get extra filing every time Peggy was in the office. And Jack had her in the lab, consulting with the technicians, every time Daniel was covering the phones. Most suspicious of all, Thompson let Daniel act as a second on interrogations when Peggy was in office… citing his excellent previous work. He didn’t think his failure to crack Peggy during her interrogation in the Leviathan mess was much of a recommendation. 

Peggy was spending a lot of time in Thompson’s office, too. She always came out smiling, and Daniel wasn’t sure if it was because she was getting meaningful assignments at last… or if she was just enjoying the extra attention. But her smile always grew a little brighter when she caught Daniel’s eye. Months went by when the most they could manage was occasionally sitting together at lunch, comparing notes on work assignments while eating sandwiches, and doing a little coded flirting. Somehow these moments were always interrupted by Thompson needing something immediately - a summary from Peggy’s codebreaking assignments, a debrief on Daniel’s latest interrogation.

When Jack finally got a girlfriend, the entire office sighed in relief. While Daniel suspected him of keeping him and Peggy separate on purpose, they weren’t the only ones who had been very busy. Thompson had been cracking the whip on the entire office. It was as if he was trying to prove to the SSR brass that he deserved his new command. But when he met this girl, suddenly he had better things to do with with his evenings than grill agents on their progress on assorted cases. He even came in late a couple mornings with a moony smile on his face.

“Her name is Rosa DeMarco,” Peggy confided to him in the file room one day. “He met her at a dance club casing some suspected Communists. He’s supposed to meet her family soon, he seems really nervous.”

“Thompson? Nervous about meeting a girl’s family?” Daniel scoffed. “I have trouble believing that.”

“That’s only because you men put up masks when dealing with each other.” Peggy said. “If your manhood allowed you to be more honest with each other, you would see that you all have similar insecurities.”

“Is that so?” Daniel asked. “And what insecurities do I have in common with Thompson, exactly?”

“Oh, well. That you care more about other men’s opinions than you let on. That you care about the opinions of women even more.” Peggy moved close, into Daniel’s personal space. “That you suspect you fall short of deserving the woman you desire, even though you’re more than worthy.” She looked up at Daniel, and his eyes half closed as he looked down at her and inhaled her scent, part warm vanilla perfume, part woman. His right hand set the files on top of a cabinet, and drifted to her waist.

“Hmm. It is hard to believe you’re worthy of a girl’s attention these days. What with bank robberies to divide her attention, and then career advancement, undercover assignments, frequent meetings with the boss…” His heart thumped as he leaned down to brush his lips against hers. He had just barely registered how warm and soft they were when the door to the file room crashed open. He stood up, ramrod straight, as Peggy jumped back a couple paces. Feeny came through the door, looking over his shoulder into the hall as he moved.

“Okay, okay!” he said. “I will pay attention and file everything correctly this time, Jack! His arms were piled high with files and he reddened when he saw them both in the small file room. “Hi guys! Don’t mind me!” Daniel cursed mentally. Somehow Thompson had intruded on their moment, again. Not that it was appropriate office behavior to steal a kiss in the file room. He knew it was really important to Peggy that she was being taken seriously now, and he would hate to undermine that.

It wasn’t that long after that they finally - FINALLY - caught the same night shift. Originally it had been Daniel with one of the other boys, but a nasty illness swept through the office, leaving most of the bullpen on sick leave. Still, it seemed to take forever until the office cleared out and they were left alone. Jack was the last one to leave, fiddling nervously with a new tie. He looked at them as he exited his office and clearly felt the need to remind them of their duties.

“Stay professional, kids. I hope you have a quiet night but it can never be guaranteed.”

Peggy waited until the elevator doors closed on Jack’s anxious face to get up and walk over to Daniel’s desk. She sat right on his desk, legs crossed, and even in her demure office wear she looked just as good as any pin up to ever grace an airplane's nose.

“I was expecting more of a lecture from Jack.” Daniel said. “Did he look okay to you? Was that a new suit?”

“I think he’s meeting Rosa’s parents tonight. I hope for all our sakes it goes well. Now, Agent Sousa, we finally get to have dinner together. What shall we order?”

They just got take out from the usual joint, of course. Daniel barely noticed the food at all, as Peggy regaled him with tales of trying to cozy up to stern Russian matriarchs and he told her all about Ramirez’s lengthy morning rituals and snoring. He had her laughing big belly laughs with his Ramirez imitation when the phone on Peggy’s desk rang.

“SSR night desk?” she answered. She listened, frowning, and then pushed a button on the phone and gestured to Daniel to pick up his receiver. Meanwhile, she started speaking. “Okay, now slow down and start from the beginning. I didn’t get any of that.”

“This is Peggy, yes? Peggy Carter? Jack gave me this number. This is Rosa. He said you knew who I was?” the woman’s voice on the phone sounded very agitated, even though she was speaking quietly.

“This is Peggy. I work with Jack. What has happened?”

“Oh God, well this is all my fault. Jack told me stories from work. He said he wasn’t supposed to tell me those stories, that I couldn’t tell anyone. I honestly thought he was making them up! But he was such a dreamboat, and he treated me so well, I was okay with that. I figured he just wanted to impress me. I really didn’t know he was a Fed! If I knew I would have never brought him to meet my folks…” Rosa was sobbing and she started hiccuping now too.

“Its okay, Rosa. Take a deep breath and try to tell me exactly what has happened, and I will see what I can do.”

“Okay well… my papa. He’s a big businessman in the neighborhood, you know? Does things for people, and offers protection sometimes. And he took one look at Jack and figured him for a cop or somethin’. And it doesn’t matter to Papa how much I love that stupid mug, or that I am sure he wasn’t investigating Papa’s business--anyway, he took him. We didn’t even get through drinks and Papa had the boys dragging poor Jack down to the warehouse. And you got to do something, Peggy! God, I don’t even know you, but I swear if you can get some of the boys you work with down to the warehouse… I don’t even care if it gets Papa in trouble! You got to save Jack, I think Papa’s going to kill him.”

Daniel barely heard Peggy talking to Rosa soothingly, getting the address of the warehouse and promising they would do whatever it took to get Thompson back. He had already disconnected from the party line and was ringing up the few agents who hadn’t fallen prey to the office plague. No one answered at Ramirez’s. A couple of the other guys were sick now. He even talked to Feeny’s mother, only to have her hang up on him. Before long he ran out of numbers and turned to look at Peggy, his face drawn.

“Its just us, Peggy. We can call the local police for back up, but they would probably want to do a full-blown raid on a suspected mob hideout.”

“Which would just get Jack killed.” Peggy surmised. “Although he probably deserves it, getting involved with that type of family. But there’s nothing for it, we’ll just have to try and get him ourselves. I’ve got the address, let’s reconnoiter.”

They took a cab, stopping a block from the address. The warehouse was close to the docks, making for a convenient body disposal in the East River. Daniel let Peggy walk the warehouse block alone, knowing she could play dumb with the best, if she was spotted. While he waited, he tried not to picture people pulling all three of their bodies out of that cold river if things went wrong. A little rain had begun to fall while Peggy was gone, and he huddled in a doorway and tried to think of happy things. Peggy laughing at his story, back in the office. The brief peck she gave him after the foiled bank robbery. The line of her legs, crossed as she sat on his desk. Honestly, he’d take her over any man in the office in this situation. She used her advantages as best she could, and he knew together they could work out a plan… where the other men might be dismissive of Daniel or attempt to showboat in such a situation. Peggy was a realist, calmly rational, and it made her a great partner.

He should have been thinking of possible plans while she was gone, but she was back almost before he realized it. She pressed herself into the doorway with next to him, close enough that he could feel the heat of her body.

“From what I could tell, there are two men each at both the front and back entrances.” she said. “I couldn’t see inside - the windows are all high up - but the walls were thin. I heard maybe two guys working Jack over inside, plus Rosa’s papa. These are stiff odds, Daniel. We have surprise on our side. I can get through the two in the back. If you get one or two down in front, and then walk in… I can creep in the back, and then it would be us up against three guys.”

“I could probably barter for his release though.” Daniel said. “Regardless of how many we take out, they might be willing to cut and run if they think we have backup coming. If that doesn’t work, I suggest you just shoot Papa while I distract them. The others will probably fold without leadership.” Peggy nodded, but she stared out into the street for a long moment. She had begun to shiver in the rainy night, and Daniel wrapped his right arm around her shoulders without thinking about it. She leaned into his warmth, looked up at him, and tried to smile. It was an utter failure. “Its crazy.” Daniel summed up. “Two people against seven. But there’s no one we can call right now, and we can’t leave Jack to die.”

“I’ve bested worse odds. They’re just thugs, after all, not trained Russian operatives.” Peggy said. “And I called Mr. Jarvis on my way back over here. He won’t get out here in time, but someone knows to look for us if we go missing. Jack sounded real rough. All those times he interrogated men with his fists is catching up to him. We have to go now if we’re going to do him any good. But… when we do get through this… we’re going to have find a moment for ourselves. Although getting it may require that we leave the country.” She managed a real smile this time. Her curls were relaxing in the rain, and she looked calm and resolved. Just in case there wasn’t another opportunity, he leaned down then and gave her a proper kiss. When their lips met, Peggy turned into him and hummed a bit. So he drew her bottom lip between his and then opened his mouth slightly, reaching his tongue towards hers. He honestly wasn’t sure who deepened the kiss after that, but it didn’t last long before they both pulled back. It was time to go.

On the next street she turned down the block, taking the long way the back entrance. Using his crutch, he moved at a steady pace, projecting a confidence he didn’t feel. When he saw the muscle at the front door, he started speaking in loud voice, hoping it would help Peggy time her approach, or at least distract the guys at the front from any noises they might hear coming around the corner.

“How are you doing tonight, gentlemen? You may not know it, but I have an appointment to speak with your boss right now.” Daniel caught their surprise and then their glances at each other, full of arrogance and derision at his appearance with the crutch. He made it in close to them before they had a chance to do more than posture at him and grumble “Says who?” Daniel slashed his crutch right at the back of the knee of the goon to his left, while he planted his weight on his left leg and struck at the throat of the goon to his right with his right elbow. The goon on the right went down, choking, but the one on his left only stumbled a bit, and wrapped his arms right around Daniel’s torso like he was tackling a man on the football field. Daniel used the momentum against him, pulling him back while rolling to his side to land beside him, while using his right hand to punch the man in the back. Because he was prepared for the fall, he kept his head up. The man he tussled with was taken by surprise and his temple struck the pavement. The man went limp. The fall didn’t feel great on Daniel’s left shoulder but he quickly rolled back the other way to check on the man on his right. That man had fallen back against the wall of the warehouse and slid down it, gasping for air. Quickly, before he could recover, Daniel did a quick sit up and slammed that man’s head against the wall. He too went still. 

Daniel lay back on the pavement a moment himself, and caught his breath. Then, moving quickly, he sat back up and moved to a kneeling position. It was awkward, but he tugged, dragged and rolled the man sitting against the wall over to his compatriot. Then, he undid the first man’s belt. He slid it through the back of the belt of the second man, and buckled it again. Then he drew his handcuffs from his own belt and fitted them around the left ankle of each man. Hopefully if they woke up before an escape was managed, they’d be too tangled to get in the way, and at least make enough noise to warn them. He quickly searched the men, finding a cheap revolver on each. Using the building and his crutch for leverage, Daniel slowly regained his feet and then threw the guns in the storm drain at the street. He was damp all over now, but he took a minute to resettle his suit jacket and draw his gun before he opened the door and strode into the warehouse with as much authority as he could muster.

There were boxes piled in random stacks all around the warehouse, with a large open area in the center. The scene there was as gruesome as Peggy implied. Jack was tied to a chair, one eye already blackened and swollen shut. One man held him while a second delivered great cracking blows to his ribs. To the side, a third older man sat, staring at his hand. He was holding Jack’s shield.

“I’m still unclear on this, fellow. Who’s the SSR again? I never heard of you guys.” The older man, presumably Papa DeMarco, looked Thompson in the eye. Jack took a wet, painful breath.

“We’re a Federal Agency. We deal with threats originating outside the US. Right now, my superiors are concerned with Communists. Not with… American businessmen.” All four men looked up at the click-shuffle of Sousa’s gait with his prosthetic and crutch.

“Of course, the local police don’t have the restrictions we do.” Sousa continued from Thompson’s statement. “I believe some of them are on the way now, in fact. So you’ll probably want to release this man you have unlawfully detained, unless you want to be arrested for kidnapping and assault.” Sousa schooled his face not to show any concern for Thompson and looked directly at DeMarco. Unfortunately Papa DeMarco didn’t seem too impressed with Sousa or what he had to say.

“What, the G-men are so hard up for cannon fodder after the war that they’re hiring cripples now? Who think they can boss me around on my own property? I’m just a concerned father having a word with his daughter’s suitor here.” Daniel was fervently hoping Peggy would make it through the back door soon. He was going to need her back up for sure. He started to say something as the bruisers working over Jack both took a step in his direction, but they were all halted by commotion coming from the back that was followed by a very feminine sound of pain. Damn. Daniel looked at Thompson, who was wincing. Papa DeMarco started to call back but was also brought up short when one of the largest men Sousa had ever seen came striding out from behind some boxes stacked between them and the back of the warehouse. He walked Peggy in front of him, one massive hand wrapped around her throat. She looked like a doll next to that monster, who was at least a foot taller than she.

“Its okay boss. I heard this little girl chattin’ up the boys outside the back door. She sounded real cute so I peeked and then before I knew it, they were lying on the ground and she was coming through the door. She had this badge on her too, if you can believe it.” The huge man tossed Peggy’s shield to DeMarco.

“I don’t know what to think here, Jack. Either you’re all investigating my business, or you got some dumb friends that include this girl here. Which might mean not only are you not good enough for my Rosa, but you were two-timing her as well. Either way, fellow, “ at this he turned back to Daniel, “you go ahead and put that gun down, nice and slow, or my pal Nick here is gonna start squeezing.” Daniel looked at Peggy who was obviously trying to indicate not to follow those directions, but hell. If he started shooting, he might get the big guy but then it would still be him and Peggy against three others with guns of their own. Better to cooperate and see if a better opportunity presented itself. He slowly bent down and laid his gun on the floor. “Alright now. “ DeMarco said. “We’re going to get to the bottom of this. Jack’s already tender, so you boys take these two and lock ‘em in that closet in my office. And then go see if you can rouse the other boys while me and Jack have another word.” He looked at Peggy then. “I don’t like hitting girls, but if Jack doesn’t start coming clean real soon, you and me might have the next date.”

The two guys by Jack came over to Daniel and half walked, half dragged him past boxes and crates and into a small dusty office. They took his crutch and then shoved him to the back of a closet. He barely had time to catch himself on the wall and turn before the giant Nick shoved Peggy in against him and slammed the door. Daniel caught Peggy in his arms, rocking him off balance a little, but he managed to stay upright against the wall. They heard the lock click and the men move off, out of the office.

Peggy regained her feet quickly and tried to move to give Daniel some space, but it was a very small closet. They could just barely stand without touching with him leaning against the back wall and Peggy leaning against the door.

“That could have gone better.” Peggy said. Daniel couldn’t see her in the dark closet but her voice sounded a little rough, as if that monster had bruised her throat. He started to get angry, then. But he took a deep breath and responded.

“Well, no one’s got dead yet, so it could have been worse. I’m sorry, Peggy, I couldn’t shoot DeMarco when that big guy had ahold of you. I assume you didn’t see or hear him when you did your recon pass?”

“No. He didn’t speak at all. He surprised me when I got through the door. I think I could have taken him down if he hadn’t been smart enough to keep me at arm’s length.”

“Jeez, Peg. That guy was a monster. I don’t know if I could even take him down. We’re going to have to double team him, if we get out of here.”

“When we get out of here.” Peggy corrected him. “My eyes are starting to adjust. Let’s see what we have to work with here. Step to your left, if you please.” Daniel pressed his left side up against the inside of the closet. Peggy also moved to her left, and then turned around. It was a very small closet, and despite the maneuvering, the curve of her hip brushed against the top of his right leg, above his prosthetic. It set his stump to tingling. She managed to get her leg around his prosthetic without more than a gentle nudge, for which he was grateful. It was warm with both of them pressed in there, and he was starting to sweat a little. Being so close to her was… distracting, and if she had upset his prosthetic he was afraid he’d fall into her. He heard her rattle the door knob, clearly feeling around to see what type of lock it was.

“Solid plate on this side.” she reported. “No way to pick it from in here.” Daniel’s eyes were starting to adjust now too, and he could just make out the outline of her body from the light leaking in around the edge of the door. She squatted low, running her hand down the the frame of the door, along the bottom, and then up on the hinge side. She just barely brushed against the front of his trousers on the way back up, and suddenly Daniel had to try to imagine standing out in the cold rain again. She finished making a circuit of the doorframe with her hands, stretching her arms over her head. 

“The hinges are on the inside. The door is a cheap hollow thing. We could probably kick it down if we could get some room.” she said. “But that’s unlikely in a space this small. So I think I can get my fingers under the door and push it up. While I do that, you can try to pull the pins from the hinges. I wish we had something flat though, to lever the pins up.”

“I have a knife.” Daniel said. “I did some modification to my prosthetic, and it has a hollow bit in the top. No one ever searches it.” He paused.

“Cracking good, Daniel!” Peggy said. “Although this isn’t what I thought we’d be doing in the dark when your pants came off.” She gave a hysterical little giggle, which was alarming and adorable at the same time. Daniel was glad it was dark and she was facing away from him, because he knew his face was bright red. “My apologies, Agent Sousa. Um. I’m trying to remain calm but I’m afraid adrenaline and our predicament is making me a bit punchy.” He felt her lean into the corner of the closet, as far from him as she could get, to give him some room. Daniel swallowed and tried to make his voice as normal as possible as he reached for his belt buckle and began to undo it, trying not to fumble.

“That’s okay, Agent Carter. I don’t think this how either of us expected to be spending our evening.” He lowered his pants to mid-thigh, and leaned hard into the wall opposite Peggy to hold them there while he unbuckled the prosthetic harness. With a little shuffle, he managed to remove the prosthetic from his leg and pull it up. He peeled the socket that normally cradled his stump off, tucking it under his arm. With two fingers he pinched the handle of the blade, wrapped in a little cloth to prevent it from rattling, and pulled it out. “Can you hold this?” he asked, and when he felt Peggy’s fingers lightly graze his chest he moved the knife so she could grasp it. Then he fitted the socket back onto the rest of the prosthetic and slid the whole rig back into his pant leg and up around his stump. He quickly buckled himself back together, pulled up his pants, and did his belt. There, now he could pretend he didn’t just have his pants down. Directly next to Peggy. “Can I have the knife back?” he asked. She pressed it gently against his chest and he clasped his hand around hers for a moment before taking it back. He unwrapped the blade, stuck the wrapping in his pocket. “Ready when you are, Peggy.” He felt her move back to the center of the door and watched as she knelt on the floor. He saw her fingers go into underneath the edge of the door where the beam of light bled in, and heard the scrape as she pushed the door up from the bottom. He reached for the top pin first, feeling his way in the dim light and sliding the knife under its flat head. It was awkward leaning over Peggy and trying not to touch her, but it came up and out easily. He stuck it into his jacket pocket and rested his left palm against the door, pushing up to hold it in place. The bottom pin came out next. He couldn’t quite get the middle pin up though, now that all the door’s weight was resting on it and the lock. “Can you wiggle it up and down, Peggy?” he asked. The lock creaked as the door slid down maybe half an inch, then up again. Creak, creak, creak. 

“Try it again.” she said. Now he could get the knife under the head, and with a little fiddling and tugging he slid it up, depositing it and the knife in his pocket.

“Got it!” he said. “Pull the door towards us, just a little.” The hinges slid apart and he grabbed the edge of the door with his right hand, holding it open just a crack, and up so she could get her fingers out from under it. He peeked out. “There’s no one in the office. I don’t hear anything. If you will grab the edge of the door, we can ease it to the floor and I’ll step back.” Her hands came up and wrapped around the door about halfway up. When the bottom of the door rested on the floor, he reached around with his left hand to grab the handle while pivoting back and to the left, against the side of the closet opposite the hinges. Peggy stood. He held on to the knob to keep the door from flopping awkwardly as she swung the door in towards them. She had to lean back against him to pull the side of the door around, and for one delicious moment she was pressed against him from shoulder to hip. Then she wriggled around the edge of the door and he was left holding it. He placed it against the far side of the closet and looked out to see Peggy handing him his crutch. Apparently they had just left it in the office. When he took it, she darted to the door and peeked around the corner. While she did that, Daniel moved as quietly as he could over to the desk that sat between the door and the closet.

“I don’t see or hear anyone.” she whispered. “We should sneak around and see if we can surprise someone from behind. If they are all in a group, I can rush Papa DeMarco with the knife.” Daniel found a crowbar behind the desk. There was nothing else useful, so he took it, and went over to Peggy, handing her the knife.

“If they are all in a group, I will rush one of the other guys first. If I can distract them it could give you a few precious seconds to get to Papa.”

“I think this plan is worse than the first one.” Peggy grimaced. “But I can’t think of anything better.” They crept, slowly, quietly around the boxes to the middle of the room. The goons they had disabled were laid in a row on the floor, still out cold. Daniel’s handcuffs still kept two of them hitched at the ankle. The chairs where Jack and Papa DeMarco had sat were empty, the remainders of Jack’s bonds still around one. Peggy signaled Daniel to stay and watch while she did a quick, quiet circuit of the warehouse. 

“These guys are the only ones still here.” Peggy said, defeated. “Maybe we should see if I can get Rosa on the phone? She might know where they are likely to have gone.” Before he could answer, there was a crashing noise outside the front door of the warehouse. They both rushed in that direction, Peggy getting there first and throwing the door open. The rain had fortunately stopped. As Daniel got to the opening, he saw her launch herself directly at the back of the enormous Nick. He didn’t see her coming, as he was busy pummeling a man who was almost as tall as he was, but a good deal more slender. Peggy got the knife up the huge goon’s throat before he could react, and suddenly everyone went still.

“Mr. Jarvis, are you okay?” It was a reasonable question. From behind Nick she couldn’t even see the man Daniel now recognized as Howard Stark’s butler. 

“A bit short of breath, Agent Carter. I am afraid I may have a cracked rib or two.” In spite of this assertion, the man drew himself up straight and adjusted his suit coat.

“Serves you right. I do believe I told you to come with the police and not alone.” Peggy’s voice sounded more relieved than anything.

“I thought it prudent just to check on the situation.” Jarvis replied. “When I arrived, I saw two men putting Chief Thompson into a car. Since they weren’t too concerned about his condition while they did it, I opted to follow them. They’re aboard a boat in the harbor, getting ready to make way. I hurried back over to find you, but I did put in a call to the police on the way back. They should be here in a few minutes.” While Jarvis explained, Daniel had made his way over to Nick and searched him. He had Daniel’s gun on him, but nothing else. Daniel kept it in his hand and watched the man closely.

“It sounds like we don’t have any time to waste.” Peggy said. “Let’s get this man restrained and get back down there.” Daniel had to remove his handcuffs from the still unconscious men to secure the big guy. He wasn’t too worried about the men in the warehouse because by the time they were leaving, sirens were sounding in the distance. 

When they arrived at the dock, the boat was still there. It appeared to be a small decommissioned fishing trawler. The outriggers and fittings remained but the reel and gear was otherwise absent. A grim miasma of fish long dead seemed to cling to the whole affair. The engine was making a terrible groaning sound and black smoke was pouring out of the stack. It was hard to see in the rain but they heard man’s voice, angry, and saw a moving silhouette in the wheelhouse.

Peggy borrowed his gun and covered them from behind as they approached the boat. At the dock, she was riding high and the gunwale was just about eye level for Daniel. He and Jarvis crouched below the lip, as Peggy joined them.

“Ladies first, Peggy. Do you need a boost?” Peggy eyed the gunwale, above her head.

“Probably stealthier than taking a run at it. Mr. Jarvis, if you please?” Jarvis fit his fingers together and Peggy stepped into his hands. She went over the edge easily and very quietly. She gave the all clear.

“Would you require a boost as well, Agent Sousa?” Jarvis asked him. Daniel restrained himself from snapping at the man. It was a reasonable inquiry.

“I should do alright. If you will hold my crutch a moment?” He handed it off and grasping the gunwale, performed a pull up. He swung his left leg up, catching the edge, and managed to roll over and down to the deck fairly quietly, only tapping his prosthetic on the deck. Peggy stood against the wheelhouse siding, a small smile on her face. Daniel reached down and took up his crutch from Jarvis, and moved back next to her. The taller Jarvis copied his movement but failed to slow his momentum on rolling over deckside, and landed with a heavy thump. Daniel winced but the ongoing engine noises must have covered it. Following Peggy’s hand signals, they proceeded around the deck slowly and silently, with Peggy in the lead and Jarvis between them. They headed for the aft portion of the boat, and Peggy lead them around the wheelhouse to the entrance. Inside the wheelhouse was a cabin to either side and a ladder going up to the bridge. They couldn’t see up to the top of the ladder, but they could hear Papa DeMarco talking on the radio to a second person, apparently in the engine room. Peggy silently cleared one cabin, apparently empty. In the second cabin she found something that made her wave them in. The cabin was small, maybe two feet wide before hitting the bunks that lined the far wall. On the bottom bunk, lying unconscious, was Thompson. He was trussed with a long length of rope, which Peggy immediately began untying. Daniel kept watch at the door. Unfortunately she couldn’t wake him. She coiled the rope and handed it to Jarvis.

"The ladder comes up into the bridge from below. If any of us go up it we’ll be at a tactical disadvantage, so we should get DeMarco to come down. Daniel, why don’t you move across to the doorway of the other cabin? Mr Jarvis and I can make some noise in here, and when he comes down, you can approach him from behind." It was a plan brilliant in its simplicity. Peggy handed him his gun again, and he moved quietly, concealing himself in the shadows inside the cabin. After a pause, some thumping noises could be heard. He saw the shadow of DeMarco lean over the ladder. Just then Peggy started talking to Jack, pitching her voice in a loud whisper. That did it. DeMarco came slowly down the ladder, moving carefully as if she would hear him coming. Daniel waited until he had just turned towards the other cabin and then he placed the barrel of his gun in the man’s back.

"Hands up, DeMarco." The man wisely froze. They decided to tie him to the bunk in the empty cabin with the rope, gagging him with Jarvis’ handkerchief so he could not warn his other man. Then Peggy and Jarvis went up to the bridge and got on the radio. Jarvis did a passable imitation of DeMarco, ordering the other man on the boat to come up to the bridge. When he popped his head up from the ladder, he saw Peggy and Jarvis waiting for him. He decided to run, just jumping off the ladder and landing at the bottom in a crouch. But Daniel was waiting in the cabin with Thompson, and he pounced on the man. After a brief tussle, Daniel had him pinned to the floor. They secured him in the cabin with his boss. Working together, Peggy and Jarvis managed to put down the gangplank to the dock. Peggy popped off the boat to call for police and an ambulance for Thompson.

When the sun rose, Daniel sat in a hard chair in a hospital room, looking at the still unconscious Thompson. He had been beaten rather badly and had two fractured ribs, but he should be okay. Peggy had started in the chair closest to the bed, leaning over Jack and fussing with his pillows and covers. She had ended up curled up and sleeping next to Daniel, her head on his shoulder. She hadn’t wanted to leave before Jack woke up, but she was out like a light now that he finally had. Daniel watched him open his eyes wide, briefly panic, and then relax when he realized where he was. His gaze traveled around the room and landed on his agents. 

"Just my luck, Sousa. Not only I did I lose my girlfriend and get beaten by her criminal father tonight, but you got locked in a closet and ended up cuddling with Peggy. I’ve done some things I’m not proud of, but I don’t think I deserve this."

"No one deserves two fractured ribs, Jack. But look on the bright side: you could be in the East River right now. You’re going to live and have lots of time to get into trouble thanks to more women." Thompson gave a wet little laugh and then a groan. 

"Well, at least I have you guys watching my back to get me out of it. Tonight wasn’t SSR business, and you didn’t have to come after me. I have no idea how the two of you managed to get through eight men and escape from a closet, but I sure am glad you did."

"Don’t worry about how, Jack. I’m going to be telling that story during drinks after work for six months. And you’ll be buying my gin." They both laughed then, and the motion woke up Peggy. 

"What did I miss, boys?"

"Just Thompson agreeing to six months of drinks on him, Peggy." Her eyes rolled at them.

"I think I can imagine a better reward for our assistance that a little booze, gentlemen.”

"But that will be later, Agent Carter. Why don’t you let Sousa take you home to get some rest. You look like crap." Thompson smiled at her.

"I can tell you’re feeling better already, Chief Thompson. If you’re sure you won’t get yourself into any trouble with the lovely nurses here, I believe I shall do just that." Together, Peggy and Daniel made their way out of the hospital and onto the street, where the city just waking up.


End file.
